PEOPLE & COMMUNITIES

Putting people first

We want to play our part in creating a better life for the people and communities touched by our business. This has always been part of our approach, and it is even more important today as our business continues to grow around the world.

No matter what the circumstances, every child deserves a placeto call home, a healthy start in life, a quality education and a sustainable family income. The IKEA Foundation has a long history of supporting programmes run by well-regarded organisations – like UNICEF and the Clinton Foundation – to help children and youth living in the world’s poorest communities so they can create a better future for themselves and their families. Currently funded programmes are expected to benefit 100 million children by the end of 2015.

The IKEA Foundation donates tens of millions of euros to charity each year through funds set aside from IKEA profits.

WAYS THE IKEA FOUNDATION HELPS CHILDREN

Empowering women and girlsBy empowering women – through education, skills training, improved healthcare, or providing a loan to set up a small business – we can improve children’s health, education and future opportunities. IKEA Foundation is funding programmes to empower and educate women, giving them a better chance to provide for themselves and their families. Visit the IKEA Foundation website to learn more about their empowerment programmes

For every LED lightbulb you buy, IKEA Foundation donates €1 to light refugee camps.

What a difference a little light can make

Today, there are nearly 10.5 million refugees around the world – about half of which are children. They find safety and shelter at the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) camps. But the lack of light in many can have a devastating effect on their safety, education prospects and income.

Providing sustainable lighting can hugely affect the quality of life for refugees. Solar lanterns help girls and boys study after dark, improving their results in school. Solar streetlights improve safety in camps, and enable more community gatherings and social activities. Reliable lighting allows refugees to continue important income-generating activities into the evening, such as weaving, sewing or running small shops and kiosks.

A little light in a refugee camp can make huge difference for the many families who call them home.

Good things are happening, everywhere

The funds will help improve access to lighting, renewable energy and primary education in refugee camps across Asia, Africa and the Middle East – improving those communitiesfor the children and families who live there.

Ethiopia

Improving and expanding existing lighting and renewable energy programmes, as well as funding improved children’s education for Somali refugees living in Ethiopian refugee camps.

376.393

refugees*

Jordan

Helping UNHCR improve the supply of electricity to the many refugee camps being constructed to accommodate hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing civil war at home.

519.676

refugees**

Bangladesh

Providing Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar – one of the longest-running refugee crises in the world – with much-needed renewable energy, and education for children living in the camps.

Enabling more than 100,000 refugee children in 18 camps to attend pre-primary, primary and secondary school, as well as supporting refugees living in the capital city of N’Djamena.mena.

373.695

refugees*

Campaign proceeds may benefit refugee camps in other countries than the ones above

*All figures refer to the total number of refugees in the country and are correct as of December 2012.

**Due to the on-going crisis in Syria, this figure refers to the total number of Syrian refugees as of September 9th, 2013.

THANK YOU!

For every soft toy or children’s book sold in stores during the campaign period - which runs every year throughout November and December - IKEA Foundation will donate 1 euro to children’s education through UNICEF and Save the Children.

Once again, THANK YOU for buying soft toys and offering more children the opportunity to get an education- and imagine a future full of possibilities.

We want everyone to feel good about the products we sell, which is why we put a lot of work into our supplier relationships – and those relationships that reach beyond ours. There are about 600,000 people working for companies that directly supply IKEA around the world, and we want to be sure they are all treated fairly.

That’s why in 2000 we launched IWAY, our supplier code of conduct. Our suppliers are responsible for communicating IWAY to their sub-suppliers and we are supporting them to do this. All home furnishing suppliers must comply with IWAY requirements, otherwise they are phased out.

We visit our suppliers regularly to check that they are following IWAY, and conduct around 1,000 audits each year

What is the IWAY Standard? Our supplier code of conduct, the IWAY Standard, plays an important role in positive developments. It specifies our minimum requirements relating to the environment, social impact and working conditions.

We visit our suppliers regularly to check that they are following the IWAY Standard. Around 80 IKEA auditors, as well as independent third party auditors make both announced and unannounced checks at suppliers and their sub-suppliers.

The IWAY Standard requirements include:
- No child labour
- No forced or bonded labour
- No discrimination
- Freedom of association
- At least minimum wages and overtime compensation
- A safe and healthy work environment, preventing pollution to air, ground and water and work to reduce energy consumption. Download the IWAY Standard PDF

Working with WWF to improve cotton farmers’ lives

IKEA and WWF have worked successfully together on cotton farming issues for over a decade. As a result, an estimated 110,000 farmers in India, Pakistan, China and Turkey have started growing cotton in a more sustainable way. By using less chemical fertilizers and more natural alternatives to chemical pesticides, small-hold farmers can cut their costs while crops remain as good as before. The money they save might be used to invest in water-saving drip irrigation or perhaps in education for their children. Learn more about our partnership on cotton

Our vision “to create a better everyday life for the many people” includes our co-workers, customers, the co-workers of our suppliers and the communities where they live.

While we have been working on human rights issues for many years, there is now a global standard to help businesses understand human rights and how to uphold them. Launched in 2011, we welcome the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and we will promote the principles across our value chain. Human rights are also embedded in our supplier code of conduct, called the IWAY Standard. Download the IWAY Standard PDF

It’s not just what goes into our products that’s important – it’s the people behind the scenes, too.

We believe in protecting children

We do everything we can to act in the best interests of children, whether it’s how we design products or steps we have taken to eliminate child labour.

Our commitment to children runs deepWhen it comes to our products and stores, we try to think from a child’s perspective. We want our products to aid their development and for our stores to become play areas, just as if they were at home. We work with experts on children’s development, to learn and understand their needs during different stages of development.

A clear ban on child labourWe believe that children have the right to be protected from exploitation, abuse and neglect. This is why child labour is unacceptable to IKEA and why we work actively to prevent and eliminate it. Our child labour code of conduct, introduced in 2000, was developed in close co-operation with Save the Children and with advice from the International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNICEF.

Creating long-term solutionsPreventing and eliminating child labour is a big challenge, which can only be tackled by addressing the root causes with a holistic approach. That’s why the IKEA Foundation supports UNICEF and Save the Children child rights programs in 25,000 villages in a number of states in India and Pakistan; reaching a total of 15 million children by the end of 2017. Visit the IKEA Foundation website for more information